The prospect of a light rail system running down the middle of Northbourne Avenue has sparked concerns about the future of ageing trees on the thoroughfare.
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The government says that regardless of whether or not a light rail line is built, something has to be done about the Eucalyptus elata trees that line the median strip on Canberra's main street.
The admission came after the ACT opposition raised safety concerns about trams powered by electricity from overhead cables running next to trees.
During an ACT Assembly committee hearing on Wednesday, Deputy Opposition Leader Alistair Coe asked if most or all of the trees in the middle of Northbourne Avenue would have to be removed when stage-one of the Capital Metro light rail network was built.
Sustainable Development Minister Simon Corbell said that while it was too early to say what would happen to every tree next to the proposed line, they were not well-suited to an irrigated median.
''They're a shallow-rooted tree as I understand it,'' Mr Corbell said. ''And therefore, whilst they've prospered very well in an irrigated median, it also means that it's very easy in high-wind conditions for those trees to fall over.
''It's a huge risk now for traffic along Northbourne Avenue and it is a problem that will need to be rectified regardless of whether or not light rail proceeds along the corridor.''
Mr Corbell said the Territory and Municipal Services Directorate was considering options for the future of trees and the public would be consulted before any decisions.
Mr Coe accused the government of misleading the public with promotional material for the light rail network that featured artwork of a tram line flanked by trees.
''It's quite misleading, isn't it, to have these natives overhanging high-voltage lines? Surely you're not going to be able to have that kind of tree integration with overhead cables,'' Mr Coe said.
But Mr Corbell said the light rail system would not necessarily be powered by overhead cables.
He said it was possible vehicles could be powered from the ground.
''Or on stretches of the line, vehicles can operate on a battery system. We're not ruling in or out those options,'' he said.
The government was still working on an updated light rail business case to submit to federal advisory body Infrastructure Australia.
But Mr Corbell said it was not clear if Infrastructure Australia's role would change under the new government or whether submissions would need to be made to a new Commonwealth body.
''At this point in time we don't really know what the new federal government proposes to do in relation to infrastructure funding beyond those projects that they announced as election commitments during the campaign, which were overwhelmingly new freeway projects in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide,'' he said.
